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play on

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus 0.07 sec.
play (up)on something 
1. Lit. to make music on a musical instrument. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) Can you play upon this instrument, or only the one you are holding? I can't play on this! It's broken.
2. Lit. to play a game on a field or court. Shall we play on the floor or on the table? Let's play on the field. It's dry enough now.
3. Fig. to exploit something—including a word—for some purpose; to develop something for some purpose. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) You are just playing on words! You are playing on a misunderstanding.
4. Fig. [for light] to sparkle on something. The reflections of the candles played on the surface of the wall. The lights played on the crystal goblets.
See also: play

play something on someone or something

to aim a light or a hose on someone or something. The fireman played water on the burning building. The stagehand played a spotlight on the singer.
See also: play

play on

to continue to play. The band played on and the dance continued until the wee hours of the morning. We played on and on until the last guests left the party.
See also: play

play on something

to have an effect on something; to manage something for a desired effect. (The on can be replaced by upon.) The clerk played on my sense of responsibility in trying to get me to buy the book. See if you can get her to confess by playing on her sense of guilt.
See also: play

play on something also play upon something
to use something for your own advantage The news reports just seemed to play on people's emotions.
See also: play


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? References in classic literature
Each guild had its patron saint, and after a time the members of a guild began to act a play on their saint's day in his honor.
They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it.
Then he called to the miser, and said, 'Tell us now, you vagabond, where you got that gold, or I shall play on for your amusement only,'
 
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